


Day One

by dizzy



Series: Crisscolfer Advent 2014 [1]
Category: Glee RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-02
Updated: 2014-12-02
Packaged: 2018-02-27 19:54:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2704586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dizzy/pseuds/dizzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Chris is 16 years old and failed his first two driving tests. Darren is 17 and willing to risk his car to teach Chris how to parallel park. (Best Friends [maybe more] AU where Darren teaches Chris how to parallel park)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Day One

"This is embarrassing," Chris mutters, slumped in the passenger seat of Darren's car. "Why are we doing this again?" 

"Because." Darren takes a turn into an empty parking lot. It's early on a Sunday morning and the shop they're heading toward won't open for another two hours. "Last time your mom tried to teach you how to parallel you didn't talk to her for two weeks. And I'm awesome at it, man, come on. I got the skills." 

Chris snorts. "Sure." 

"Okay, fine. Then I have a reward system." Darren smirks over at him, turning the engine off and pulling the keys out of the ignition. He tosses them over at Chris, who isn't paying attention until they land on his lap. "You're gonna love it." 

"For every time I successfully park, you'll hang out with me for one hour without touching your guitar or making me listen to a new song?" 

"I'm wounded." Darren covers his heart with his hand. "You don't want to hear my Ode to Chris's Eyelashes?" 

"I'm sure you'll live." Chris tries to ignore the faint tingle he gets at Darren's words, though. Darren flirts, of course. Darren flirts with everyone. He probably kisses everyone, too. Probably holds everyone's hand when he walks them home. Probably goes out of his way to hang out near everyone's locker between classes... 

Chris is pretty firmly trying to deny to himself that there's something going on here, even though all signs point toward the affirmative. It feels too intimidating. Darren is too popular, too full of energy and potential. Chris feels - not that. There's only a year between them but it has always felt like a lot. Darren's always run with an older crowd, usually friends of his brother's. Chris... spends a lot of time playing tea party with Hannah. They live in different worlds. 

Except for how they've always had a little world of their own. Darren lives a couple blocks over, in a row of slightly nicer homes, but there's a park midway between their houses. Chris and Darren have been close since they met in elementary school, Darren's family fresh from San Francisco. Their mothers became friends and playdates became an everyday thing. It wasn't long until Darren's mom felt safe with him riding his bike over to Chris any time he wanted. 

High school changed things, of course. There was that one year where Darren was off at the high school while Chris struggled through eighth grade. They weren't as close for a while, but even during that year Darren usually came over for dinner on Sunday night and he'd help Chris with stuff. Chris's mom still says they might have had to home school Chris if it hadn't been for Darren tutoring him. 

Then Chris was in high school with Darren and things just fell right back into place. They didn’t have classes together since Darren was in advance placement in most things anyway, but Chris joined the chorus at Darren's insistence and they're both in drama. Darren had a girlfriend back in freshman year and he had one when he was a sophomore too, but even with the inevitable crush Chris developed, the girlfriends never bothered him that much. He just sort of always knew... if he needed Darren, Darren would be there. 

And he was right. When Chris felt ready and like he had a handle on the stuff in his life that he had to deal with, being gay and how his parents would react and everything, it's like he just opened his eyes and there was Darren, ready and waiting. 

Sort of like he is right now, except right now he's just staring at Chris with a slightly amused look on his face and waiting for him to get out of the car. "We kinda have to switch sides for this to work." 

"Shut up," Chris says, an automatic response. He sighs and gets out of the car, yelping when Darren slaps his ass as they pass each other going around the front. 

Inside the car he runs through the mental checklist that's been drilled into his mind through hours of reading that dumb manual. He's pretty sure he won't have any issues passing the test when it comes to everything _but_ parallel parking. 

"This is dumb," Chris says, pulling forward with only a little bit of jerkiness. "If parallel parking is the only option available then clearly I just didn't really need to be at that place anyway." 

Darren laughs. He's relaxed, tilted toward Chris. It's completely unlike doing this with his mother as an instructor. She'd fussed and nervously looked around and practically shouted at him to stop any time he came within twenty feet of a sign or obstacle. Maybe it's because Darren's used Volvo (inherited from Chuck, who also got it used) is worth a whole lot less than the car his mother got last year. "Just circle around a few times, get a good feel for it." 

Somehow the idea that Darren has confidence in him gives Chris more confidence in himself. He weaves through the ups and downs of the parking lot, gaining a little speed and doing well enough on the turns that Darren lets out a sincere little, "Awesome job!" that definitely doesn't make Chris grin so big he has to glance the other way. "So, reward system?" He asks. 

"Oh, yeah!" Darren grins. "Nail parallel parking and you get a reward." 

"Okay, I got that much," Chris says. "But what's the reward." 

"You get to pick," Darren says. He sits up in his seat a little and the corner of his mouth twitches. To the casual observer it might seem like nothing, but to someone as well versed in the topic of Darren as Chris happens to be, it's a tell: Darren's nervous. "I could, um. Take you out to dinner. To celebrate the victory." 

"Like a date?" Chris asks, before his rational mind can catch up enough to second guess the question. 

"Yeah. If you want." Darren is looking at Chris out of the corner of his eye. "Because I do. Want. It to be a date." 

Chris doesn't answer, but he takes a deep breath and drives around to the row of parallel spots beside an office building. Darren says nothing, just moves his eyes between Chris and the spot and then back to Chris. 

Two minutes of moving forward and backward, attempting and adjusting his trajectory, and Chris is parked. 

He turns off the car and looks over at Darren. "What time are you picking me up?" 

Darren is laughing when he leans over and kisses Chris, cupping Chris's cheek high up on his face so his fingers brush that ticklish spot along Chris's hairline while his thumb presses just in front of Chris's ear. "I thought you were gonna say no." 

"Then you're an idiot." Chris kisses him back, eyes shutting as if not seeing Darren means Darren can't see him or the blush he knows is on his face. Darren's mouth on his - it's still a new thing, but he's pretty sure it won't stop being this nice even after it isn't a novelty anymore. "Of course I was going to say yes."

He opens his mouth against Darren's, maybe to say something else but Darren's lips catch him just right and then Darren's tongue is in his mouth and they haven't done this before. Chris falls into it clumsily, almost falling into Darren in a literal way. 

Smooth, Colfer. Smooth. At least Darren doesn’t seem that bothered by it. It’s a heady feeling to Chris, being able to do this to Darren. He doesn’t care if he’s not the first person Darren’s kissed, probably won’t be the first person Darren’s done _stuff_ with. Yeah, Chris still gets nervous, but it’s the kind of feeling he has before he gets on a roller coaster. He knows nothing bad is really going to happen but his stomach flips all the same. 

He is absolutely, positively sure that he can still be the best for Darren, because he already is - he’s Darren’s best friend. And Darren is _his_ best friend. 

The rest of this is just… icing on the cake. Really, _really_ amazing icing. Icing that Chris wants to thoroughly enjoy. Icing that he already thoroughly enjoys thinking about, sometimes up to four times a day. 

Maybe the icing analogy was a bad one. 

"Damn," Darren says, breathing a touch more quickly when they part. "Okay. We should go... we should get home before our parents are back..." 

"What?" Chris asks, biting his lip in a coy manner. He loves how Darren's eyes go straight to that spot when he does it. "You don't want to practice anymore?" 

"Oh, I do want to practice," Darren says, reaching past Chris in a deliberate way to push the driver's side door open. He's grinning, eyes practically sparkling with mischief, and the solid heat of Darren pressing past him makes Chris want to squirm. "But what I want to practice has nothing to do with your driving." 

"Then what does it have to do with?" Chris asks, still feigning ignorance. He gets out of the car, moving at his own speed. 

"Reward system, right?" Darren meets him around the front and turns on him, grabbing Chris around the waist and tugging him in. Chris lets out a soft, almost whining sound when he realizes Darren's thigh is pushing between his legs a little. Darren drops his head down and kisses Chris's neck... then completely pulls away, walking back to slide behind the wheel. 

"I hate you," Chris calls after him. 

"No, you don't." Darren waits until a sulking Chris is in the passenger seat, then leans over and pecks Chris on the cheek. "It has to do with the reward you get when you actually pass the test. Consider that a little teaser."

**Author's Note:**

> [reblog on tumblr](http://alittledizzy.tumblr.com/post/104119473680/crisscolfer-fic-a-day-advent-2014-day-one)


End file.
